Former Montco coach admits providing booze to teen girl

NORRISTOWN — A former girls’ cross-country coach at Hatboro-Horsham Senior High School faces court supervision and community service for providing alcohol to one of his athletes, a 17-year-old girl.

William Ryan Lichtner, 24, of the 1200 block of Limekiln Pike, Ambler, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Monday to one year of probation after he pleaded guilty to charges of disorderly conduct and selling or furnishing alcohol to a minor in connection with incidents that occurred in May 2012.

Judge Gary S. Silow, who accepted a plea agreement in the matter, also ordered Lichtner to complete 48 hours of community service as a condition of the sentence. Lichtner, who over the course of two years had served as the Hatboro-Horsham cross country coach during the fall seasons, no longer is employed by the school district.

Assistant District Attorney Heather Levandoski said Lichtner violated the trust of the girl’s parents and his employer when he supplied the girl with alcohol.

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“When parents send their kids to school or a school-run program, I think there’s an expectation there that the faculty is going to act almost as second parents. There’s that level of trust there that a parent expects that teachers, faculty, coaches and the like will act in the best interests of the student and act in ways to protect them, not put them in harm’s way,” said Levandoski, who added coaches are supposed to guide students and teach them life lessons, not provide them with alcohol nor sanction underage drinking.

“Mr. Lichtner disregarded that. He violated the trust of the parents and he also violated his position as a coach,” Levandoski added.

Defense lawyer Michael F. Dunn said Lichtner is remorseful for his conduct.

“It was a mistake he made and almost as soon as he did it he realized he shouldn’t have done it,” Dunn said. “He hopes to put this behind him and go on to continue to be a law-abiding citizen.”

An investigation of Lichtner began on May 24 when officials at the high school contacted Horsham police to report that the teenage girl confided in her guidance counselor about Lichtner’s inappropriate conduct.

The girl told detectives that Lichtner had supplied her with alcohol on at least eight occasions between February and May 2012, according to the arrest affidavit. The alcohol included vodka and Mike’s Hard Lemonade products, court documents indicate.

The teenager, with approval by her parents, subsequently agreed to allow a conversation she had with Lichtner to be recorded by authorities, according to court papers.

“(The girl) and the defendant had a 21 minute conversation and included in the conversation was the fact that she owed him money for alcohol that he provided,” Horsham Detective Robert Waeltz alleged in the criminal complaint.

During an interview by police on May 25, Lichtner admitted that he had in the last six months supplied alcohol to the girl at her request, according to the arrest affidavit.

At the time of Lichtner’s arrest, school officials issued a statement indicating they acted swiftly when they learned about the offense.

“I was troubled by the actions of this adult and disheartened by this incident because the district continuously strives to provide its students with a safe educational atmosphere,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Curtis Griffin said in a news release at that time.

“This situation was resolved quickly because the student involved confided in her guidance counselor, which allowed the district to take appropriate action.”

None of the incidents reportedly occurred during school hours or on school property.